Adaptronics: the “electronic fingertip” invented by two Polytechnic Alumni

It can grip heavy objects without squeezing them, is equipped with touch-sensitive sensors and is very thin: less than 0.5 mm

This is the story of two engineers and Alumni of the Politecnico di Milano who first became researchers and then entrepreneurs. Camilla Conti studied energy engineering, Lorenzo Agostini mechanical engineering. Their paths crossed during a semester of exchange in Canada. Back in Italy, they graduated and chose different paths: she continued at the Poli after a short period in a multinational company, first with a doctorate in engineering. energy and aerospace and now as a post-doc researcher, he worked in the company for two years before continuing with a PhD in emerging digital technologies at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa; He then became Assistant Professor at the University of Bologna, where he carried out research on electro-mechanical transducers based on the physical phenomenon of electrostatics in the context of the SAIMA laboratory (Innovative Sensors and Actuators for Advanced Manufacturing) joint with the STIIMA Institute of the National Research Council.

From this research, a new technology to produce adaptive mechatronic devices has emerged. In May 2022, Agostini and Conti, together with Prof. Rocco Vertechy (UniBo), Agostini’s post-doc supervisor, founded a startup: Adaptronics, officially born after a year of work on the business model, and based on the skills gained in almost 10 years of research combined.

COTEC 2022 Innovation Awardees (credits: Adaptronics)

FROM A BALLOON TO TECHNOLOGY…

Their invention exploits  the well-known principle of electroadhesion: the same principle whereby, when you rub a balloon on your hair, it sticks to it. “During my PhD,” explains Agostini, “I worked with a research group that deals with the development of elastomeric-based electro-mechanical transducers, i.e. systems that deform like rubbers and which, when stimulated with electrical power, produce a mechanical action. For example, this technology can be used to create an artificial muscle that is as soft as a natural muscle but stiffens when electrically stimulated.”

The innovation of Adaptronics consists in having been able to evolve this technological base to  develop a special film composed of polymeric materials, which allows to control and obtain an electroadhesive effect: the result is a film with a thickness of less than 0.5 mm, which becomes adhesive when electrically activated. It is able  to lift up to 50 kg with  two patches the size of credit cards (obviously, the larger their size, the greater the force exerted), without having to use magnetic or pneumatic effects, and with an energy consumption in the order of a few Watts.

credits: Adaptronics

A kind of “sensorized electronic fingertip”, therefore, capable of detecting contact with any target object and moving it without exerting any pressure on it that could somehow damage it: it can become an enabling technology for many applications, the founders explain, from space, to industrial logistics, to freight transport and agriculture (imagine picking a raspberry without having to squeeze it…).

… AND FROM THE LAB TO THE STARTUP

“I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur,” says Agostini, “and found my own company. I chose to study engineering and do my PhD because I wanted to be one of the first in the world to handle an emerging technology.” Wish granted, and certainly not by rubbing a magic lamp. To validate this technology, the founders and their research team worked in the laboratory for several years. Once its operation was demonstrated and its industrial potential verified, the long process of technology transfer began  (if you want to find out how to become an “inventor”, we talked about it on MAP 10).

“Before we got to the final form of Adaptronics, we also presented other ideas that had similar core businesses and were based on the same technology. We have participated in several competitions of ideas for start-ups, (we have also won several, including the StartCup, the National Innovation Award in the Industrial category, the Talentis of Confindustria Young Entrepreneurs and the EIT Jumpstarter, ed.). These experiences also offer training that has been helpful in helping us identify the market segment to focus on.”

Today Adaptronics is a start-up in its infancy, formed by 5 partners: Conti, Agostini, the University of Bologna (of which it is a spin-off), prof. Rocco Vertechy (UniBo), Agostini’s post-doc supervisor, and Ing. Gavino Boringhieri, long-time manager and startup mentor. It is aimed at the market of  automated robotic systems for efficient and sustainable logistics: industrial automation, last-mile delivery with autonomous robots, automated fruit harvesting, space debris removal and in-orbit services to satellites.

credits: Adaptronics

ADAPTRONICS: ALWAYS LOOKING FOR THE NEXT STEP

The two polytechnic entrepreneurs are now focusing on the internationalization strategy  to access new markets and also future funding rounds. “It’s time to invest in training an operational team of mechanical, electronic and automation engineers to support us in product development. We are looking at Europe but also at the United States: both because of the greater accessibility to investment capital and because of the proximity to the major space programs. For us, that is a very important market since we are also involved in the aerospace sector, which currently has enormous growth potential and great interest from investors. We can be an ‘enabling technology’ for in-orbit operations, and for this reason we are incubated in Turin by the Business Incubation Center of the European Space Agency”, concludes Agostini.

“We want to become competitive in  the world and we want to make a tool that can be a standard  for industrial automation of gripping and moving objects: if we focused only on Italy, we would soon be overtaken by any Asian or American company that can develop the same product while taking money from all over the world. Our plans, however, are  to keep research and development in Italy, where there is certainly no shortage of brains and excellence and must only have the opportunity to grow.”